On Shedding & Reinvention
In this week's Sunday Reset, I make tenuous parallels between Pamela Anderson, snakes and T.S.Elliot, as I explore the transformative power of withdrawing and shedding.
The water was running gently across the banks around my feet - slow and steady, like blood when it seeps through a bandage. Not really noticed until suddenly it appears and is everywhere.
The only sounds I can hear are dogs, distant groups talking, and the crunching of tiny fragments of shells under my trainers.
I’m standing on a bare, blank beach on one of those days where the white sand blends seamlessly with the white sky.
I'm noticing all of these details because I'm on a silent yoga retreat.
No phones, no talking.
So I guess this is what they call mindfulness.
"Was it hard?" My friends ask, when I came back to London afterwards.
No not at all. It was exactly what I needed.
No need to fill an empty pause.
No need to perform.
To seem sparkly.
I’m typically a chronic "more is more", “work hard, play hard”, “Yes person” - mum used to worriedly say "you need to stop burning the candle at both ends", etc.
So, it’s been interesting for me to explore withdrawing and retreating recently, as I've been processing grief.
I’m finding beauty in the bareness. In stripping things back.
And it all feels very fitting as I’ve learnt 2025 is the Chinese year of the snake. In Chinese astrology, the snake is a symbol of transformation, wisdom, and - most importantly - shedding.
Unlike the dragon, which blazes forward with force, or the tiger, which pounces, the snake renews itself by stripping away what no longer serves.
It doesn’t just grow - it removes.
Exploring shedding
I was curious about this process and did some research (to add to my already very ‘misc’ ChatGPT search history...)
In the Pre-Shedding Phase…
The snake's skin starts to look dull and dry.
Its eyes become cloudy or bluish due to a fluid build-up between the old and new skin layers. This is called being "in blue."
The snake may become more irritable or hide more than usual since its vision is impaired.
…sounding a bit familiar…
In the post-Shedding Phase…
The snake reveals fresh, vibrant skin underneath.
It becomes more active, and its appetite often increases (yep).
Why Do Snakes Shed?
Growth – The old skin becomes too tight, so it needs to be replaced.
Healing – Any small injuries, scars, or parasites on the old skin are shed away.
What I found interesting to read is that snakes don't "grow" new patterns or colours when shedding, but their natural colors can appear more vivid right after a shed.
Like the snake, instead of the shedding taking things away from me, could it just be revealing what was already there and showing it more vividly?
It reminds me of Pamela Anderson.
Stay with me.
So, I’ve recently become obsessed with Pamela Anderson.
No, not in a horny teenage boy way.
She’s become a different kind of pin-up for me.
Someone who is modelling what a successful withdrawal and reset looks like. It’s actually a masterclass.
Let me explain.
She was the personification of the male gaze. The walking embodiment of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing - a woman who had learned to watch herself being watched.
And then, she left. Not in a scandalous, burnt-bridges kind of way. She just… slipped out of the frame.
And when she came back things were different.
No more heavy makeup. No more posing. No more existing for consumption.
Her beautiful bare face sitting boldly on the front row of fashion week shows.
It’s annoying that this still feels like a radical act.,. but that’s a whole other piece.
And what happened? Suddenly, she was seen - but this time, on her own terms. No longer an image. Now a person.
She’s thriving and self-actualised. She’s since starred on Broadway as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago, marking her first major performance in years. This role was a pivotal moment in her career, showcasing her versatility as a performer.
Following this, in 2024, she starred in The Last Showgirl, portraying Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas performer facing the end of her show's long run.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received critical acclaim, with Anderson's performance being described as "a revelation."
This role earned her nominations for both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, marking a significant milestone in her acting career.
Reflecting on her past, she described her '90s Playboy image as a "cartoon character" and expressed that she is "not that person anymore."
How had she achieved this?
She said she returned to her roots, moved back to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, aiming to "disappear" and restructure her life.
Pamela teaches us that true transformation often begins with subtraction.
Shedding the expectations that no longer fit.
Removing yourself from places that keep you small.
Saying goodbye to versions of yourself that feel more like costumes than skin.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about stepping away. Not as a retreat. Not as failure. But as an intentional act of self-preservation. A reset. A shedding.
Because if we’re honest with ourselves - how much of what we carry is actually ours? How much of it is just expectation? Habit? A cartoon or persona? Old versions of ourselves that we’ve been too polite to let die? That we’ve held onto because it’s easier? Because it makes people feel more comfortable to be around us?
Why Disappearing Can Be a Power Move
We live in an era that glorifies visibility. We’re told to post more, show up more, stay relevant. People are often scared that f they pull back, stop posting etc, they'll lose out.
But evidence suggests the opposite.
In his memoir Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey describes a pivotal moment in his career where he realized he needed to shed his rom-com persona to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor.
For years, he was the go-to guy for romantic comedies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (a criminally underrated RomCom IMHO!!).
The roles were fun, paid well, and made him a household name - but they boxed him in. He wanted more depth, but Hollywood wouldn’t see him beyond the charming lead persona.
He knew he’d have to do something intentional and dramatic to change the course of his career.
The Shedding Process:
Radical Pause → Instead of taking more of the same, he stopped saying yes to rom-coms altogether - even when offered up to $14 million for a single role.
Uncertainty & Silence → For over a year, he waited in the dark with no job offers. Hollywood wasn’t ready to see him differently yet.
The Reset → Eventually, after disappearing from the rom-com scene, he started getting calls for serious roles-leading to his ‘McConaissance’ (his reinvention).
Breakthrough → He landed roles in Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective, and Interstellar - films that cemented him as a serious actor, culminating in his Oscar win.
His story is a perfect example of shedding to reset. He didn’t just change - he disappeared from what wasn’t working, making room for what was next.
And Reese Witherspoon did something similar.
Reese Witherspoon’s Shedding & Reinvention
Reese Witherspoon’s career transformation is a masterclass in shedding an old identity to step into something bigger.
For years, she was Hollywood’s “America’s Sweetheart” - known for playing bubbly, optimistic characters in rom-coms like Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, and Four Christmases. The roles made her famous, but they boxed her in - Hollywood wasn’t offering her complex, serious roles.
The Shedding Process:
Hollywood Stopped Calling → As she hit her late 30s, the rom-com era faded, and the industry wasn’t giving her substantial offers.
The Realization → Instead of waiting for great roles, she saw a deeper systemic issue - Hollywood wasn’t making enough films about women, let alone giving them leading roles.
The Pivot → She stopped chasing old roles and created her own opportunities by founding Hello Sunshine, a production company focused on female-led stories.
The Breakthrough → She produced and starred in Wild (earning an Oscar nomination), Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, and Little Fires Everywhere - becoming a powerhouse producer and business mogul.
The lesson here?
Instead of fighting for scraps in a system that wasn’t serving her, she shed the old version of herself and built something new. Now, she’s not just an actress - she’s one of the most influential women in entertainment, shaping the stories that actually get told.
Michaela Coel on Disappearing
And finally, when Michaela Coel - the writer, director and star of ‘I May Destroy You’ won an Emmy for what can only be described as a masterpiece, she delivered a speech with a manifesto on creativity and retreat, saying:
"Do not be afraid to disappear for a while and see what comes to you in the silence."
In a world obsessed with constant visibility, Coel championed stepping back - not posting, not seeking validation, just allowing yourself to create without an audience in mind.
In his poem “Burnt Norton”, T.S. Eliot called this process ‘the still point’ - the moment where everything pauses before transformation happens:
“At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is.”
I’m in the still point and learning to enjoy the dance.
The lesson from this, from snakes, from lovely Pamela:
Sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is let yourself disappear so you can return changed, but a truer version of you.
TL;DR – The Art of Shedding & Resetting
🐍 2025 is the Year of the Snake, a symbol of shedding and renewal - and lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to let go.
💭 A silent retreat taught me the beauty of pausing, withdrawing, and being in stillness - something I’ve never been good at.
🚶♀️ In life, shedding happens too:
Old identities no longer fit - and that’s okay.
Stepping away isn’t failure - it’s self-preservation.
✨ Pamela Anderson, Matthew McConaughey, and Reese Witherspoon all mastered the art of stepping back - shedding what no longer served them, so they could return stronger.
📖 Michaela Coel said it best:
"Do not be afraid to disappear for a while and see what comes to you in the silence."
Your Turn: What Are You Shedding?
What parts of your identity no longer feel like home?
Where in your life do you need to step away to step into something truer?
Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear how you’re embracing your own vanishing act.
I LOVE this piece. Thank you for sharing such interesting examples of transformation!!!
Very good encouragement. Thank you!